One
by AquaQuadrant
Summary: "Okay, we'll call him," He wrapped her in a tight hug. "We can do this, okay? For Penn. One last mission."


**Author's Note:** Hi readers! This was inspired by Prismasandpie on tumblr, and was originally posted of AO3. Though I love the silly, light-hearted cartoon that is PZPTH, we could all use a little angst sometimes, am I right? Just a one-shot for now, might add another part later though. Also, fair warning; if you're squeamish, then this is probably not the fic for you.

 **Rated T for:** Major character death and graphic depictions of violence.

And now, without further ado, please read on and enjoy One! :) - Aqua

* * *

 **One**

"Are you sure? I can call back-"

"Of course, we're never too busy for you, Penn!"

Deep breath, firm grip, a quick twist and a _pop_ and it's over- the monster's neck snapped in her hands, the body dropping to the ground in a heap of limbs and horns.

"Yeah!" Her husband's voice came from somewhere behind her; strong and sure and steady. "How's your week been, pal?" A heavy thud, a crunch; bones gave away beneath his fist, and one of the beasts yelped and scampered away, blinded by its own blood.

"Uh, good, good... school's fine, I've got A's and B's in all my classes, except, y'know, Rippen's failing me in art, but that's nothing new."

"Well that's hardly fair!" She protested, leaping out of the way as one of the creatures charged her, murder in its primitive eyes. It was enraged at the loss of its companion, snarling deep in its throat and frothing at the mouth.

"It's not a big deal, really... I don't care that much. It's just because we always beat him at missions."

"Villains are so petty," She scoffed, widening her stance as the monster squared up, preparing to charge again. "Next time you see him, give him a good ol' punch for me, would you?" She ducked under the beast's horned head and used its momentum to throw it over her shoulder, slamming it into the dirt.

Brock was on it in a second, breaking off one its many horns and stabbing it into its heaving chest. The remaining creatures finally cut and run, their mournful baying fading into the distance.

"Yeah, okay mom, I'll be sure to do that..."

Penn seemed a little more subdued than usual. He was lacking his normal energy and his eyes were troubled. It had only been a couple days since the whole fiasco with the Least Dangerous World Imaginable; perhaps he was still hung up on it.

Vonnie caught Brock's eye and titled her head in Penn's direction.

"So, uh, how're things with that play going?" Brock slid off of the monster's corpse, wiping his hands. "The, um, the musical... which one was it again...?"

"Seussical. Auditions are this Friday, but it's technically for the upperclassmen so I don't think I'll get a part. Freshmen rarely get parts in the older kid's productions."

"Oh, but you're so talented!" Vonnie gushed, brushing her curly hair out of her face. "I'm sure you'll get something. How have missions been?"

"Missions have been great," That brought a real smile to his face. "It feels so good to be a part-time hero again."

"That's great, Penn! I'm-" There was a clap of thunder, and Vonnie broke off, looking up. Yellow-green storm clouds were gathering, tinting the whole shy a sickly color. Vonnie exchanged a look with Brock, who grimaced.

"Acid rain," He grumbled. "Penn, buddy, we've got to find some shelter right now, but we'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! Be safe, okay?"

Vonnie and Brock broke into a sprint as the rainstorm drew closer, the acidic raindrops hissing and popping as they hit the ground.

"Love you Penn!"

"Talk to you later!"

"Bye!" They chorused, the video screen disappearing.

They managed to stay just ahead of the storm, deadly raindrops sizzling at their ankles. They passed some unfortunate creatures who weren't fast enough, the acid eating holes through their bodies, burning everything away into smoke.

The storm was almost upon them when they slid into a little cave at the bottom of a cliff. As the acidic rain poured outside, they fought the cave's previous inhabitants; creatures that were a horrific blend of bat and lizard.

"I think all this is really starting to get to him." Vonnie's fingers tore through the delicate leathery membrane of its wings; she tightened her grip and ripped the entire appendage clean off, its bones cracking. Its shrill screech echoed around the cave, and she kicked the monster into the cave wall, splitting its head open.

"What?" A lizard-bat lunged for him, fanged maw open and slitted eyes filled with hate. A loud smack- he backhanded it to the ground, crushing its skull underfoot.

"Us, being here," She batted another one of the flying demons out of the air. "Especially after that whole ordeal with the Least Dangerous World Imaginable. I'm worried about him." A forked tongue tickled her ankle, and she jerked her foot away before it could sink its fangs into her flesh, stamping her boot down on its back, _crunch_ , breaking its spine.

"Me too." Brock sighed, kicking away the last of the little monsters, who scattered into the darkness, claws clicking on the stone floor.

"He looked tired," Vonnie sat down on the dusty, bloody cave floor. "Do you think he's getting enough sleep? I hope he isn't worrying too much."

"Calm down, he's a tough little guy... he'll be fine," Brock sat down beside her, draping his arm around her shoulders. "But next time... maybe we should ask him if he's eating alright, he looked a little thin..."

Vonnie's stomach growled, and Brock grinned at her.

"Speaking of hungry," He said. "We should try and find some grub. The storm doesn't look like it'll let up anytime soon, though..." Brock nudged one of the dead lizard-bats with his shoe. "Think we could cook up one of these?"

"Too much gristle, there's hardly any meat on them," Vonnie studied the carcass critically. "Let's explore this cave some more, see what we can find."

"Alright, after you."

* * *

"So how was your day, sweetie?"

Force a smile, _you're happy to see him, Vonnie, but don't let him see that you're tired._ They'd wandered deeper into the cave system, one winding tunnel after another, opening into massive caverns too deep to see the bottom of, fighting monsters along the way, so _many_ monsters- but it was okay, they were okay... even if they hadn't seen daylight for two days straight.

"Yeah, weren't auditions today?" Brock chimed in. "How'd that go?"

"Uh, pretty good, I think. They actually let me read for a few parts, so, I dunno..."

"Oh, Penn, that's fantastic!" Some of the tension eased from her shoulders, and she smiled a real, genuine smile. "I knew you'd do well."

"Be sure to let us know the _second_ the cast list comes out, alright?" Brock said, wistfulness dripping into his tone. They should be there for things like this, to hear him run down the stairs and excitedly shout ' _Mom, dad, I got the part!'_ , but instead they were _here_. "And how was work today?"

"Oh, man, we had this insane mission today, we were dragons, okay, and I had to finish at the top of my class for Flight School."

Penn went on to tell them all about his mission, and Vonnie's heart swelled with pride. He really was growing up, and they were missing it...

Later, when they'd finished talking and Penn had ended the call, Vonnie sighed and leaned on her husband's shoulder.

"I miss him, Brock."

"Me too."

* * *

"I really think we helped him, don't you?"

Earlier that day, they'd tried to call and check up on Penn, only for Rippen to answer. They'd been zapped into a mission where whenever Penn lost his temper, he turned into Rippen in a Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of way. Aided by Sashi and Boone (and Larry, unintentionally), they'd managed to make Rippen laugh, turning him back to Penn in time to complete the mission.

"Yes, I think so," Brock agreed, squinting at the horizon. "Pack of were-hounds up ahead," He added. "We should go east."

"Alright," Vonnie was just glad they were finally out of that cave system, full of darkness and monsters and death. "I'll admit, I was a little hard, watching that happen. I hate feeling helpless."

Brock made a noncommittal noise. "I'm glad he's got such good friends to back him up."

"Yeah," Her expression darkened. "Rippen was way out of line, accepting our call like that. I mean, I'm glad he did, we got to help Penn out, but he did that _just_ to mess with Penn. He wanted us to watch him fail his mission. Things are already hard enough for Penn as it is."

"Don't worry, our boy can handle it," Brock said. "Still, the first thing I'm gonna do when we get back home is give that jerk a good punch to the nose."

They walked in silence for a moment. Vonnie hated not being there for Penn. Parents were supposed to support their child, provide him with knowledge and guidance. And even though they assured Penn they would always be there for him to talk too, realistically it just wasn't feasible. Not in this world.

"Do you think we'll ever get back home?" She asked quietly.

"Of course," His voice told her he believed that whole-heartedly. "I trust Phyllis to get us back. The tough part is staying alive until then."

She wished she could share his optimism. Even now, when there wasn't another creature in sight, she was on guard, every muscle tense and ready for an attack. She was getting far too used to this.

Parents were suppose to love and protect, not kill and destroy. How could she hug her son with the same hands that had taken countless lives? They were heroes, yes, but that didn't change the fact that they were killers.

"Does it bother you? What we have to do to survive?" She asked. She could still feel blood on her hands, no matter how many times she cleaned them.

"Yes," He answered immediately. "Fighting is easy. Killing's the hard part, but we have to. We have to do whatever it takes to stay alive, and get back to Penn."

"Whatever it takes."

* * *

It was early morning.

Vonnie was weary; they slept in shifts, but it was never enough. Sometimes there were more nocturnal creatures in an area and they spent the entire night fighting for their lives. They were always moving; where, they weren't sure, but in this world you couldn't stay put for long.

This day wasn't supposed to be any different than the rest. It was just a routine fight; a pesky swarm of pit scorpions. It shouldn't have been a problem. It was all supposed to turn out okay, like it always did, but it didn't.

Fighting was second nature by now, almost as automatic as breathing. Turn, dodge, dodge the stinger, grab its tail and _pull_ \- watch for the mandibles, there's another one behind you, find the weak spot, the chink in the armor, _crack_ , it's down, turn to the next one and _strike_.

Only after the fight was done, and all the arthropods were dead, did Vonnie realize she'd been stung. The welt on her shoulder burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her chest.

"Brock..." She turned to her husband, for help, for comfort, for _something_ , only to stop, her blood freezing. There was a similar puncture wound in Brock's side. "Oh my god..."

His eyes locked with hers, and with heavy certainty, she knew.

"How long do we have?"

"About an hour."

"Amputation?"

"It's too late, the venom's already spread through our bloodstream."

"Is there an antidote?"

"No."

"We have to call Penn."

"Von, we can't do this to him-"

"We need to see him, Brock! Try and give him some kind of closure, we owe him that much, don't we?"

"We can't call him up and tell him we're dying! It would destroy him, there's nothing he can do, and I'm not going to make him watch helplessly when we-"

"I need to see him, Brock," The tears finally came, and she choked back a strangled sob. "Please, I have to, one last time."

"We can't tell him we're dying," Brock said, his voice faltering. "We... we'll just call a- and check up on him, okay? Just like any other time. We don't tell him _anything_ , alright?"

"Okay... o-okay, we can do that. We'll just... pretend everything's normal?!" Her voice grew slightly hysterical, and she sucked in a deep breath. "We can say goodbye, tell him we love him. Okay."

Brock swallowed hard. "Okay, we'll call him," He wrapped her in a tight hug. "We can do this, okay? For Penn. One last mission."

Vonnie nodded, wiping away her tears. "I'll be strong."

"I know." Brock pulled away, studying her face with a watery smile.

They stood next to each other, Brock's arm draped around her shoulders to cover her sting, and his other hand on his hip to cover his own. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before making the call.

Penn's face appeared on the holographic screen.

"Oh, hi guys!" His face lit up at seeing them, and Vonnie's heart tightened. "How are you?"

"We're doing fine, son," Brock managed to sound normal, bless him. "Just checking up on you, pal. You wanna tell us about your day?"

It was hard to listen to Penn talk, so blissfully unaware that this would be the last time they saw each other, but Vonnie clung on to every word, hardly daring to blink.

"And then Sashi... hey, are you guys okay? You look a little.. off."

"No, we're okay, Penn," Vonnie said, a little too quickly. "Don't worry."

"Are you sure..?" He didn't seem convinced.

Vonnie exchanged a look with Brock. "Well, Penn, the truth is... we had a close call earlier today," She lied. "We're okay now, but we're a little shaken."

"We just wanted to see you." Brock said.

"Oh, okay, as long as you're sure you're alright..." Penn studied them. "I miss you guys." He said softly.

"We miss you too, Penn," Vonnie felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. "So, _so_ , much. Don't ever think we don't."

"We never wanted to leave you, Penn," Brock added sadly. "You'll never know how sorry we are that all this happened."

"Hey, don't worry, it's not your fault," Penn reassured them. "I get it. Things don't always turn out the way you hope. It's okay."

"You're an amazing kid, you know that?" Vonnie's eyes welled with tears; _not yet, hang in there, you're almost done..._ "We're so lucky to have you, Penn."

"Thanks," Penn rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "You guys are great parents."

"We're gonna have to let you go now," Brock locked eyes with her. It was time. "Penn, just remember that even though we're stuck here, we're always with you, okay?"

"You are a sweet, caring, intelligent, courageous young man, and you're an amazing hero. Don't forget that." Vonnie told him, managing one last, genuine smile.

"Don't worry, I won't," Penn smiled back, and it was the most heart-breakingly beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you."

"Goodbye Penn, we love you." They spoke as one.

The call ended, and Penn's face vanished. Vonnie stared blankly at the space he had been, tears streaming down her face. Brock took her by the hand.

"Let's find somewhere secluded, okay Von?" He said, impossibly gently.

They ended up in some cliff-side tunnel. Fortunately, it was abandoned by whatever had dug it in the first place; Vonnie didn't think she had the strength to fight anymore. Brock rolled a boulder over the entrance, sealing them in their tomb.

Vonnie sat down heavily on the cold, stone floor, Brock taking his place beside her. She could feel the sting beginning to effect her; feel the poison coursing through her veins.

"You know, a small part of me was always hoping I'd go out like this," She said quietly. "Monster fighting, being a hero, doing what I loved..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I decided long ago that if I would give up my life if it meant not failing a mission. I didn't want to live in a world where I was known as Vonnie One. And maybe that makes me horrible, and selfish, but I can't help but feel that way," She sniffed, brushing away her tears. "I just didn't plan on leaving him so soon... he's only fourteen..."

"It's okay. He'll be okay." Brock murmured.

"It was never in the plan for me to retire from heroing. I know you wanted me too, when we had Penn."

"I know, but it wasn't right of me to expect that from you," Brock sighed. "That's just who you are, Von, and I married you because I love you for _you."_

"I can't help but think that if I had, we wouldn't be in this mess," Vonnie said miserably. "Or, at the very least, Penn wouldn't be left so alone. He's going to lose both of his parents at once, it's going to hurt him so badly, Brock."

"I know," He wrapped his arms around her. "But he's going to be okay."

"Do you think he'll ever forgive us?" Vonnie whispered hoarsely.

"I think he will," Brock said simply. "It'll take some time, but he will. You were right before, though. I'm glad we got to say goodbye." His voice broke.

"Me too," Vonnie hid her face in his shoulder. "And even though I would much rather you be at home, safe, with Penn, I... I'm glad you're with me." It was getting harder to breathe.

Brock kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Vonnie."

"Love you."

* * *

The small cave was filled with a buzzing sound as the MUHU rang, flashing brightly in the darkness.

No one answered it.


End file.
